Teen Girl Power

October 1998

Hanson's musical mad scientist, Ike, is the most technically inclined Hanson brother and is considered the best musician of the group. But he's also a whiz in the recording studio, thinking up everything from new arrangements to out-of-this-world sound effects---a sort of musical mad scientist.

Having a home studio has let the oldest Hanson play around with different gadgets and sounds. He's even learned how to make computers make music, although he prefers the old-fashioned way of picking up instruments.

As for the home studio, Ike admits that the guys have used it to make "goof" recordings and even songs that are gifts for their parents.

"It's so great having the studio in the house," Ike says. "It's the greatest gift they ever gave us. There have been probably a dozen years of work that have gone into the Hanson sound---I started tinkering around with music when I was five."

But what abou the real "secret" to the successful Hanson sound?

"You know what?" says Ike. "The magic is the sound of our voices together. On a really good day in the studio, our voices sound like one. That's the trick to our success. We try to be innovative and do creative backing vocals that include humming and funny noises, but the real deal is the sound of our harmonies."

Rumors are flying over at Mercury Records that the boys will have a new disc out for Christmas. Ike tells us that the next album will feature some outrageous effects, some of which are homemade. For instance, Ike explains, "We have always loved songs with great big loud clap tracks on them "The people listening to the song can't help but clap along. And if you listen to some of our songs---I won't say which--you can hear converstations between me and the guys in the background. I always thought background noise was important towards giving a song ambiance."